Cooling device for valves and the like



T. MIDGLEY, JR

COOLING DEVICE FOR VALVES AND THE LIKE Filed OCL.

i Patented July* 15, 1924'.

UNITED STATES 1,501,862 PATENT omer..

THOMAS MIDGLEY, Jn., or DAYTON, omo,Ass1GNon, BY nnsNnn'ssIeNunNTs, To m- DnLco-LIGHT COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A conOnATIoN orDELAwAnE.

COOLING DEVICE ron iLvEs AND -0ri`gina1 application illed January 10.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS MmoLEY, Jr., a citizen of the United States, o fAmeric-a, residing at Dayton, county of Montgomery, State of Ohio, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Cooling Devices forValves and the like, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip-y tion. v

The present-application is a division of my copendin Aapplication, Serial"v ,NO. 211,224, filed anuarv 10, 1918.v Said previously tiled case relates to impovements in the construction of parts of cooling devices such as engine valves. And the 'present application relates to improved methods of constructing such valves or other devices.

Amongst the objects of the present invention are to provide improved methods of applying the veneer or coating by electro-plating process; also in cleaning the coating or veneer; also various methods for applying the coating after the cleaning operation has` been effected; and improved methods of her'- metically sealing the valve or other device-7' Other objects will be apparent from "the ensuing description. And in order that the entire valve construction may bewell un derstood, the structure set forth and claimed in theabove mentioned copending application will be herein set forth in detail, with referencev to the accompanying drawing. i

InI said drawing: Fivs. 1 shows in cross section va valve to which the present invention is applied.

, Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the method of hermetically. sealin the valve.

Referring to ig.y 1, the Lsteel yalve here illustrated comprises the head portion 10 and a stem 12, which may be provided with radiating fins or ribs 13, slipped over the stem in any suitable manner. 'The head portion 10 may be welded to the stem 12, so

-that the head and stem will constitute substate, dropping by gravity to the bottom of the stem, 'thus setting up a continuous or cyclic automatic cooling action.

1918, Serial No. 211,224. Divided and this application led otloher4 2, 1918. Serial No. 258,530.

The inner wall of the, stem is provided, as shown with an intermediate heat transferring medium indicated by the reference number14, which forms a coating, veneer or body superposed upon and in intimate contact with the inner face of said stem chamber for the urpose of facilitatin the transfer of heat etween the wall an vthe mercury,'and vice versa. .This coating is purposely shown .on an exaggerated'scale in the'drawmg to facilitate the-understanding of the invention.,

The. operationand eiliciency'of the valve can be considerably increased by using such an .intermediate heat transferring mediumy which consists of an amalgam oralloy of mercurytaplied in the form of a rmanent coating efore the valve is place in use.

y improvements are directed first toward the securing of the best kind of amalgam for such a coating. My preferred orms of coating are devised both with reference to ability to rfacilitate transferv of heat, and ability to adhere strongly and permanently to the steel of the wall which supports it, soas to form a structure or coating which is mechanically strong and will not break off or become detached as a result of the vibration and temperature conditions under which the valve operates. rlhese conditions are; best met by the use of an amalgam, including a metal such as iron, which will 'strongly adhere to the metal of the A valve; in an amalgam o this character, the mercury of the amalga Vfacilitates transfer 0f heat to and,4 from the working mercury, while the iron of the amalgam facilitates transfer of heat to andfromthe steel of the valve, so that the metals of the amalgam, so to speak, form a link or chainlsystem for the easy transfer of heat between the parts.

I have discovered another characteristic which gives added ellciencyyto such an intermediate heat transferring medium, viz, that it should be made of material which will not only tend 'to adhere strongly, to the steel of the valve, but which, m` the event of any part of the. amalgam. becom-v ing disassociated from the steel, will also reassociate itself and adhere strong] to the steel that may have become exposed?7 That is, if the amalgam breaks dovvnl, (that is, ydisassociates itself, from the steel,) the coating or veneer becomes automatically re the amalgam of the veneer which breaks down under operating conditions becomes mixed with the Working mercury `of the valve, and is carried by thev mercury vapor into contact with that portion of the steel from which the coating became detached, and thereby builds up or renews the coating at the desired point. lin addition t amalgamscontainin tin and lead, ll have found4 `that other meta s possessin varying degrees the" ability to form an 'amalgam with the `roperty. of building upLf Yiter instance, rass, antimony and zinc, which may be regardedv as equivalents oitin or lead. However, ll prefer yto use` amalgams 'containing either or bothtin and lead. v The come" lbined qualities of building up and of ad hei-ing strongly't'o the metal of the valve are best obtained by the use of an\intermediate heatj'transe medium consisting of an iron' amalgam, such as described in the para. v graph next preceding, and a quantity of building up amalgam. I prefer to use anziron amalgam containing thirty p r cent I (30%) of tin-lead amalgam.

L obtain improved results by placing a "smallxquan'tity of anamalgam havmg building'fup properties in the Working mrcury,'which amalgam is carried by the heated mercury into contact with" any exposed part of the steel of the stem, with @which it adheres. This amalgam which is L mi" mixed with the working mercury may be i vvlthe lsame' as that which forms the coating or veneer, or it may be one of the components of sald coating or veneer. ln practice,

' I prefer to use a tin -or lead amalgam, lor

a tin-lead amalgam mixed with the Working mercury, and l have obtained excellent results by the use of a tin or tin-lead amalgam mixed with the Working mercury in the proportion of 30 to 50 per cent of the amalgam. in conjunction with a 30% to 50% tin-lead amalgam coating or veneer 14.

While I may use a Veneer consisting-of an iron amalgam, as above described, such coatings consisting simply of mercury and iron are not quite so satisfactory as some of the other amalgams mentioned which contain tin or lead,'on account of the lack on the part of the sim le iron amalgam, of the property of building up as described above.- By using an amalgam of iron with tin or lead or both, the valuable properties of the iron in adhering to the steel and facilitating the vtransmission of heat from the veneer 14 to the steel stem are retained,

while the valuable building up properties- .coating in use.

Leonesa of the'amalgam, ldue to the presence of the tin or lead insure/ the ll have also found that l amable to obtain satisfactory results. by thevuseot a veneer 14 of tin applied inv any suitable manner to Y'padhere to the'steel, this tin becomes transamalgam is preferably present in the vvorking mercury in the proportion of between 30% to 50%. i

rllhe thickness of the coating or veneer vmay vary in practice; l find that a relatively thin layer is quite. suiicient for the purposes of the invention.

l will now proceed to describe some net-hods of constructing valves or other devices iny accordance with my invention,and will first'refer to methods of applying the veneer or coatingA by electro-plating processes.

A rigid metal v'rod is suspended inside the tube or valve stem to be plated, spaced from and-in a substantially symmetrical position with respect to the Wall thereof. rllhe rod is the anode` and the Wall of valve stem is the cathode. This rod (which may be in the form of a Wire) may be coated with vmercury whichis to be deposited upon the Walls of the tube. This Wire should consist of a metal which, When itself deposited by electrolytic 'action on the walis of the tube along with the mercury, will assist in producing an amalgam" having the qualities which are desired.l For instance, ll have found that it is preferable to use a steel or iron Wire carrying the mercury, because when the iron from the Wire passes to the cathode, it assists in building up a desirable f iron amalgam.

Instead of using a steelwire coated with the amalgam, ll'may use a plain steel or iron Wire or other suitable metallic rod' or Wire Without a coating of amalgam, providing that the electrolyte contains a salt of mercury, so that under the electrolytic action,

the iron or metal from the anode and thel mercury from the salt are deposited elec-y trolytically pn-the inside walls of the tube.

When it is desiredto provide an amalgam coating or veneerof tin, or lead, or both, an anode consisting of afwre or rod of these metals may be used. in conjunction with. an electrolyte consisting of a mercury salt. le applying my pretense@ .form of het permanence ont the llt) lill@ lrignsfer -medium I. employ an anode. conslsting of tin-lead wire, and I form an' electrolyte from a bath of hvdrochloric acid with mercury together with some iron, this making an electrolyte consisting of a salt of mercury and iron. As a resultof plating the inner wall of the tube serving as a cathode with the metals coming'from an an- 0de and bath of this character, I obtain a very satisfactory deposit of fan amalgam of iron, tin and lead, this amalgam havlng the desirable qualities hereinbefore set forth.:

In order to obtaina deposit of the desired,

thickness, I find it preferable to repeat the plating operation severahtimes, say four o r five times, cleaning it with .mercury between this plating operation. lSome of this mer cury 'is added by adsorption to ,the plating.

In order to prevent a short-circuit during the electrolytic operation, I prefer to kprovidea porous insulation around the tin-lead wire serving as the anode; care should be taken to use an insulation which will be suiliciently porous to permit of the escape of gases.

After the coatm with the amalgam has been effected, I fin that it is important to clean the coating or veneer witn dry mercury, that is, re-distilled mercury, otherwise dirt will remain and form a crust, which, when the valveis heated, will'tend to interfere or destroy the heat-transferring action of the amalgam veneer.

The eifectlve deposit of a coating or veneer of amalgam is very much facilitated by the reliminary cleansing or treating of the steel? I find that the best results are'obtained by preliminarily cleaning the steel with hydrochloric acid. It is also desirable to clean the interior of the valvel rior to treating it with the hydrochloric acid, b oth mechanically, for instance by reaming or drilling, and afterwards with sodium hydroxide solution which removes the oil left from the drilling or reaming operation.

I will now proceed to describe some methodsof forming an intermediate heat trans' ferring medium as a coating or veneer on the interior wall of the valve stem or tube, after the cleaning operation has been effected as described above, or in some other` suitable manner.

Example.

lytic action will continue for a period of about two hours, at which time the electrolyte will'be ready for use. It should be filtered before usin y Y l(b.) A tin lea wire is re ared 'for use as the central electrode, w ic wire is surrounde with a porous insulation. to prevent short-circuiting, as described\ above.i

(c) 'lhe valve is then plated in the following manner.

tin lead wire is arranged in theinterior of the tube and connected with the positive pole of a` suitable source of current, whilef The interiorl of the tuber or stem is filled with the electrolyte, and the the valve stem itself is connected with the..

negative pole. The plating operation'A takes place by passing a iurrentof about 3 amvperes at 6 volts for sufficient time until the electrolyte is substantially exhausted. yThe wire and electrolyte are then removed, but the valve 'is not rinsed. Mercury is then added and the' valve stem lcontaining the mercury is shaken. the plating and some of it is adsorbed by the plating. This plating operation is repeated about four o1' five times.'

(d) The valve is then cleaned in.water,

This mercury cleans and afterwards in mercury. Some ofithis adsorption to 'the This completes the operation of depositi ing the amalgam coating or veneer upon the interior of the surface. completed, the working mercury is intro-` duced into the valve in the desired quantity,

After this has been I (for example, about five grams), and if it is desired to employ a quantity of amalgam for the purpose of building up the coatin or vencer in the manner herein describe then some of the'desired amalgam, for instanze, tin lead amalgam (about 3 grams), is also introduced along with the mercury. This may be prepared by melting vsolder into the mercury, and heating, taking care to prevent the formation of oxides.

' lrVhere it is desired to coat the interior of the valve stem with a Veneer of simple iron amalgam, the practice may be substantially the same. excepting that an iron or steel wire will be employed in place of the tin lead wire which is used for the central ele trode.

I have found that an effective electrolyte for the plating operation can be obtained by dissolving lithium citrate in saturated mercuric chloride solution and acidifying to clearness with hydrochloric acid. `In practice. I obtain satisfactory results by dissolving one grain of lithium citrate in 125 cc. of

cid, vas. described above. This electrolyte is used for the plating operation in conjunction with the steel or tin lead or other suitable central wire which acts as the anode in lthe plating operation. l

l may also proceed without the use of' an external electric circuit for the plating Operation. using an electrolyte such as that pre-- pared as a result of step (a) of the example given above, or the electrolyte prepared 'from 'lithium citrate and saturated mercurio chloride solution, and placingan I' aluminum wire in metallic contact with the inside of the valve after it has been nearly filled with' the electrolyte, thereby` setting upa plating action which results in the deposlt of metal from lthe electrolyte onto the surface of the tube. The most e'ective results are-obtained by rubbing the valve with the aluminum Wire, which eects adeposit of mtal upon the interior' of the valve stem. After the wire and. electrolyte are removed, the'valve is treated in the samemanner as that set forth in connection with the example given above. This method. is, in edect, an electroplating process in which the aluminum'wire comprises onepole of a primary battery and the walls of the valve stem constitute the other pole.

l find thatill can4 plate metals with elec-`- trolyte other than those referredto above, by means of the aluminum plating method described above, the electroyte being a salt of the metal that it is desire tofdeposit, and the elctrodebeing of higher -scale inthe E. M. F. table than the metall which'isto be deposited, so' as to bring about the battery action described above. This process of plating is particularly valuable in connecl' tion with the. plating of the interior of spark plugs forinstance in lating the spark plugs" described in ,my Tatent Na 1,328,051, dated January 13. 1920,y and also in the co-pending application -of Charles Franklin Kettering, Serial No. 211,425,

vtiled January-11,1918, where owing to the `very narrow` bore, it is ditlicult to connect the bath with an external circuit.

llnstead of applying the intermediate heat-transferring medium in the form of a veneer or coating by an electro-plating operation, ll may employ any suitableplating operation, forinstance, Dafter cleaning" the interior of the valve as described above, l may rinse it in an acidified solution of zinc chloride, and' thereupon dip the valve in molten tinso as to coat the interior of the valve with tin. l thenv rinse the' valvey clean in slightly acidiied Water, and fill with clean tin amalgam whichis allowed to remain within the valve Afor a period of about one hour; afterthis has been removed l add sodium hydroxide solution to neutralize any l aeoaeee the manner; described above. Y Before' sealing the valve, with the working mercury, a quantity of tinlead, amalgam prepared in any suitable manner, for instance, as described above in connection with the first example given.

l also obtain good results by coating the .interior of the valve with tin-lead amalgam, by proceeding in the following manner. After the interior of the`valve has been cleaned as described above, l rinse with acidified. solution of zinc chloride and then heat the valve to 212 degrees Fahrenheit with some tin-lead amalgam, which is prepared by melting soft solder in the mercury. l pour this tin-lead amalgam slowly into the interior of the valve untilit is full and continue to heat until all the moisture has evaporated from the inside of the valve,

after which l empty out the tin-lead amalgam contained in the stem. l then rinse cl'ean in water and afterwards in mercury, after which l add sodium hydroxide solution to neutralize any acids and proceed in ll prefer to adel acid'andthen clean and prepare for'use .in i

the manner described with reference to the first example given.

ln all instances, l lind it quite important to clean the valve after it has been provided with its coating of amalgam, by means of dry mercury in the manner described above, as it seems to have the eect of increasing the efliciency of the valve.

After the valve has been provided with its amalgam coating and the mercury along with the amalgam has been placed within the. valve, it is necessary to seal it hermetically in 'order to prevent the escape of the vaporized mercury when the apparatus is in use.- y

l prefer toy seal the valveby means ,of a weldin operation, and ll also take steps to avoid t e permanent breaking down of the amalgamcoating which would otherwise take place as a result of the welding operation.

When the valve is'lready for sealing, l

drive a tapered plugfl' -into the open end thereof, as shown inlFig. 2, until the tube is practically hermetically sealed, and l then saw this od even to the top of the valve stem.

The valve is then placed within threefourths of an inch of the top in water, as shown in Fig. 3, and an oxyacetylene llame is used to fuse'over the entire end of the valve, after which two more layers of steel are added, as shown and indicated by the reference numerals 16 and 17, and thoroughly fused. lWhile this end of the valve ,is red hot, it is turned upside down and the, mercury and amalgamwith the mercury is v allowed to boil until the boiling ceases. This applies amalgam to any part'of the coating of the upper portionv of the stem which may have broken 'down due to welding, and also to the end of the plug 15, soh

llO

ico

'in the valve bo y becoming so heated' as the result of the heat of the welding operation, as to cause the blowing out of the plug, as

the result of-its expansion. Ther welding may, of course, be efected electrically if desired.

I believe that I am correct in describing the metallic coatings hereinvasl amalgams or alloys of mercury, but it will be understood that I also use the term amalgam herein not only specifically, but generally, to indi"- cate the alloy or mixtureofjmetals which are formed as a.result of .my improved methods of manufacture described herein.v Tin and lead are. known as tetrad'metals, that is, they belong to a chemical series which forms 'the fourth group in the periodic classification table'. Where the terms' tetrad metal or tin Fare used in the claims it is t be'understood that they include not only tin but'such equivalents as lead, or tin-lead. j

While lI have described herein some preferred embodiments 'of my invention, it will ofv course be understood that man v,modifications and changes might be ma e by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention as defined by the appended-claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. Theprocess of electro-plating an amalgam coating upon lthe interior' of a metallic hollow body' consisting in applying electric current to anl electrolytic cell of which Y the hollow body forms the cathode, the anode comprises one of the metals to be de-V posited,. and the electrolyte comprises a salt of mercuryand a salt of iron.'

2. The process of electro-plating an amalgam coating upon the interior of a metallic hollow body consisting in applying electric current to an electrolytic cell of which the hollow body forms the cathode, the anode comprises a body of tin, and the electrolyte includes a salt of mercury.

3. The process of electro-plating an amalgam coating upon the interior of a metallic hollow body consisting in applying' electric current to an electrolytic cell of which the hollow body vforms lthe cathode, the anode comprises a tetrad metal, and the electrolyte includes a salt of mercury.'

4. The process of electro-plating an amalgam coating upon the interior of a metallic hollow body consisting in applyingelectric current to an electrolytic cel of which the hollow kbody forms the cathode, the anode comprises a Lplurality of metals to be dethe anode` com rises a body of lead-tin alloy, and the e ectrolyte includes a. salt of mercury and a salt of iron.

6. The process of lating avmetallic surface with a coat-ing o amalgam consisting in electro-plating a deposit of the amalgaml upon the surface and then washing the plated surface with mercury in order that additional mercury willy be added to the plating by adsorption.

e process of lat-ing a metallic surface with a coating o amalgam consisting in electro-platin a deposit of the amalgam upon the sur ace, then in washing the surface with water and then with mercury in order that additional mercury will be added by adsorption.

8. The process of plating a metallic surface with a coating of amal am consisting in the successive electro-plating of the metallic surface with the amalgam, each lating operation being followed by was ing the plated surface with mercury in order that additional mercury will be added to the plating by adsorption.

9. The process of preparing electrolytically an electrolyte for amalgam plating convsisting in applying an electric current to an electrolytic cell of which a quantity of ,-.mercury is the positive pole, a piece of steel or iron -is the negative pole, and the electrolyte included hydrochloric acid.

10. The process of plating a surface which consists in plating the surface with amalgam, subjecting the plated surface to the action of an alkaline solution, in rinsing in water, in drying the surface, and thenin subjecting the surface, to the action of dry, redistilled mercury.

11. The processiof sealing a hollow body provided with aninternal plating of amal-- gam including mercuryand another metal, and containin a quantity of mercury in` which is dissoved a quantity of said other metal, which consists in welding a plu in the lopen end of said hollow body, t en, while the body is still hot, in lacing the body in a position such that te mercury will come into contact with the welded portion in order that the mercury and the metal dissolved therein may replatefany portions of the body from which the plating'may have been destroyed due to welding.

12. The process of plating a surface vwhich lconsists in plating the surface with amalgam, and in subjecting the surface to the action of dry, redistilled mercury.

13. The process of sealing a hollow body gong including mercury en enot er metall, endfcntnning e, qnnntity of mercury 1n Inrlnclrns dissolvedya/qnentity of seid other metal, which consists in mmersing the body in n cooling mmium with the open end of the body projecting above said medium, in weldin n lug in the open end of seid hollow 'no y t en, `While the body is still hot, in placing t e body in e position such that the mercury Willwcome into contactv with the Welded .portion in order that the mercury mnd the metnl dissolved terein may replete nny portions of tlne loodyl trom `which the planing. moy lleve been destroyed dueto Welding. n .l

monete;

transferring medm which consists in driv-v mg a'nletnl plug into theopen end of the M. The process of sealing n metnllic lrolvlow 'body containing e quentity of lient4 body, in cuttlng ed the outwardly px'oecting end of the plug Hush withthc end o body, 1n Welding the plugin position, end in succcsswely Welding one or more metallic discs in position over the end of the plug f "l end the end of the body.

ln testimonywhereof l aix my signatures ;A

A -rnonlis'rrrnnnnrgrm Witnesses: v l i M. E. (mmm, W. H. Tnnmrnn'nnnnenn.'

theA 

